Improvement in ratchet and pawl mechanism



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Letters Paten-t No. 100,315,1latctl March 1, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAICHET AND PAWL -M'ECANISM.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame To all 'whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, M. D. MYERS, of Frankfort, in the county ofHerkimer, and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Ratchet and Pawl Mechanism; and I do hereby declarevthat the. following is a full and exact description thereof', referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

Similar letters indicate the same devices in all th figures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construct-on and operation.

Figure 1 is a view of my improvements, showing the pawl in engagementwith the ratchets, also showing the loose collar or ange movedsutiicientl y distant from the projecting arm of the pawl to allow itsfree operation on the ratchets.

Figure 2 is a view showing the' loose collar forced against theprojecting arm of the pawl, causing the pawl to fold in its slot and outof engagement with the ratchets.

Figure 3 is a view of my wheel with its ratchets attached.

Figure 4 is a view of bonnetor shield, showing the pawl attachedthereto.

Figure 5 is a view showing the loose collar or Harige rwith the forkedshipping-lever attached. v

A, the frame.

B, the shaft.

C, the wheel.

D, the bonnet or shield.

E, the pawl.

F, the spring.

G, the loose collar or flange.

H, the lever.

I, the fnlcrum of lever H.

J, the ratchets attached to wheel C.

K, the collar for holding wheel C in position.

'L, the hub 'of shield D.

M, the projection or projecting arm oi' pa wl E.

N, the handle of the lever H.

.0, the groove in the loose collar or flange for the reception of theforked end of the lever H.

I construct my ratchet and pawl mechanism as follows:

I cast the bonnet or shield I) with a. 'long straight hub on one side,and a circular slot near the outer edge of the shield for the receptionof the pawl E and its spring F. A'piece of metal is forged to the propershape and size for the pawl E, and fitted loosely in the slot, and ahole is drilled through the circular side of the pawl about equidistantfrom each end, and a hole of somewhat smaller size drilled through theshield outside of the slot and a short distance into that portion of theshield inside of the slot. A spring. l", iS

then secured in one end of the slot., when the pawl E is placed in itsposition and a pin, P, inserted in the holes drilled in the shield andthrough the ,hole drilled in the pawl, and the pin secured so thatitshall not drop out.' A collar or iange,v G, is then bored out to titloosely' on the hub L, aml a groove turned in it, as shown at O. 'lhecollar is then placed on the hub L ofthe shield D, and the shieldsecured to the shaft B, which has previously been turned in a .lathe tothe proper size and placed in its boxes where `it is to 'revolve.

I next construct a wheel, C, withl ratchets J J on one side of thewheel, the ratchets being placed cir-- cular and equidistant fromthe-center ofthe wheel, said-wheel also haring a short hub on theratchet side' for the purpose of keeping the ratchets from comingl incontact with the inner portion of the shield D. A collar, K, is nextfitted on the shaft, and secured next to the outer hub of the vwheel Cfor the purpose of keeping the wheel -C from slipping lengthwise ot' theshaft.

The pawl E -being operated upon by the spring F is brought intoengagement with the ratchets J J, as shown in lig. 1. While the pawl Eis in engagement with the ratchets .T J, fig. l, if the wheel C shouldbe` caused to revolve forward or in apdirection with thestraight sidesof the ralchets toward the end o f the pawl E, the shield D would becaused to-revolve with the wheel O, revolving with it the shaft B andwhatever machinery may be attached to it, while, with a reversed motionofthe wheclvG, the pawlEdrags over the inclinations ofthe ratchets J J,and the shaft B Y with its machinery remains in a state of rest inrelation to the wheel C.

By applying power tothe shaftl B in a direction toward the straight sideof the ratchets J J, the wheel Cwill be caused to revolve vwith it;while a reversed motion of the shaft B will allow the wheel C to remainin a state of rest in relation to the .shaft B.

In mowing-machines, reaping-machines, hay-spreaders, and other machineryhaving two driving-wheels Voperating.; on one and the same shaft, itbecomes necessary that ratchet and pawl mechanisms should be.

attached to each of the driving-wheels, -or to some other portion of themachinery, in order that, in turning corners or angles where one of thedriving-wheels revolves with a greater rate of speed than the other, theswifter revolving wheel will propel the machinery, while the pawl on theopposite wheel is caused to drag over the inclinations ofthe ratchetscoming in contact with it, thus avoiding undue straining of themachinery by the dragging of one of the driving-wheels. lt often becomesa matter ot4 great convenience in moving a machine from one location toanother, to throw the rnacl1inery"out of gear.

In my ratchet and pawl mechanism this is easily accomplished by addingto the devices already mentioned the forked lever' H, with its fulcrumat I, the foikel portion of the lever actingin the groove O of thecollar G.

When it is desired to throw the pnwl E ont of engagement with theratchets J J, the hand or foot of the operator is placed upon the leverat- N drawing it toward the frame, which throws the forked end of thelever outward, carrying with it the loose collar or fiange, which isforced against the end of the pziwl projecting outside of the shield D,which causes both ends of the pziwl to close flush in the mortise in theshield, thus throwing the powl out of engagement with the ratchets,which allows the wheel C to revolve freely on its axis without revolvingthe machinery. -This is all accomplished without the necessity oftheoperator descending from his machine to secure the pawls out ofengagement with the. ratchets, as by the old method.

I do not claim a. ratchet-wheel and pawl as my invention; but

What I do claim, and wish secured to me byLetters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. The pawl E, with its projectingarm M and spring F, in combinationwith the ratchets J J, as shown and described.

2. The loose collar G or its equivalent, in combination with the.shield 1) and lever H, es and for the purpose herein described.

3. The combination of the pnwl E with its projecting :um M, spring F,the loose eolhir or its equivalent, and lever H, all made, arranged, andoperating substantially as herein shown and described.

M. D. MYERS.

Witnesses:

W. J. PIPER; GEO. W. GATES.

